Seizing The Moment: Following an Unexpected Path to a Fulfilling Surgical Career

Finding the ideal surgical career path isn't always linear. This webinar explores the benefits of considering opportunities outside of a strictly defined specialty or practice setting. Join our expert panel as they discuss strategic career planning, especially when you don’t land that dream specialty fellowship, navigating less-than-perfect fits, and ultimately building a fulfilling surgical practice.” Hosted by the ACS Women in Surgery Committee.

Registration will open soon.

Moderator

Mary E. Klingensmith, MD, FACS, MAMSE

Dr. Mary E. Klingensmith is the chief of accreditation for the ACGME, overseeing all aspects of accreditation for over thirteen thousand surgical, hospital, and medical-based GME training programs and nearly one thousand sponsoring institutions, and is the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Previously, Dr. Klingensmith served as vice-chair for education in surgery, the residency training program director in general surgery, the associate director for the Wood Simulation Center, and was a Loeb Teaching Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. She was the founding director of the medical school’s Academy of Educators.

Dr. Klingensmith practiced general surgery at the John Cochran VA Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis. Her research interests are in procedural-specialty education, including curricular reform, competency-based education, simulation curricula, surgical ethics, and the impact of regulations on student, resident, and faculty perceptions of the field of surgery.

Dr. Klingensmith served as a director for the American Board of Surgery, including a tenure as chair from 2017-2018, and for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Additionally, she served in an employed position as vice-president of the American Board of Surgery, where she directed the EPA project for the ABS and, for 12 years, led the Surgical Council on Resident Education. Dr. Klingensmith served on the Committee on Certification (COCERT) for the ABMS, including as its vice-chair. Currently, she represents the ACGME on the ACS/ASA Blue Ribbon Commission II on surgical training.

She was an inaugural year inductee of the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators™ in 2018 and participated in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. Dr. Klingensmith is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and is a past president of the Association for Surgical Education. Originally from Beckley, WV, Dr. Klingensmith received her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Wellesley College, her medical degree from Duke, and her residency training in surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

Panelists

Rahila Essani, MD, FAS, FASCRS

Dr. Rahila Essani is a board-certified colorectal surgeon, surgical innovator, and unapologetic force in a field she’s helping redefine. A national leader in minimally invasive and robotic colorectal surgery, she practices at AdventHealth in Florida and serves as co-chair for NOSCAR Summit. She is widely recognized for advancing transanal and natural orifice techniques and mentoring the next generation of surgeons. Born and raised in Pakistan, Dr. Essani trained in the US, built a trailblazing career, and continues to lead—while raising her son as a single mother. Her philosophy? Be a stiletto in a room full of flats—stand tall, make noise, and leave an impression.

Quan Ly, MD, FACS

Dr. Quan Ly is professor of surgery in the division of surgical oncology, specializing in the upper GI and HPB cancers, and the vice chair of culture and advocacy in the department of surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Ly’s research focuses on collaborating with basic scientists to bring bedside questions to bench research and back to bedside.

Dr. Ly was born Vietnam and migrated to the US when she was nine years old. Dr. Ly’s journey involved leaving Vietnam on a small fishing boat and living on an island in Malaysia for 6 months without running water or electricity. She credits this experience to making her resilient, adventurous, and optimistic.

As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Ly was the first in her family to become a doctor receiving her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completing residency at Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hannemann University, now Drexel University, and a fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Vihas Patel, MD, FACS, MAMSE, FAIM

Dr. Patel is chief of acute care surgery, surgical quality officer, and vice-chair for academic affairs at Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Medical Center Department of Surgery, as well as an associate professor of surgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

After graduating from an accelerated BA/MD program at SUNY Downstate, Dr. Patel joined Montefiore Medical Center, NY, for her general surgery residency and The Ohio State University for a surgical critical care fellowship. After ten years of practice as a trauma and metabolic surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was recruited back to NY to build the non-trauma acute care surgery program at Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

In addition to her clinical practice as an emergency, general, and critical care surgeon with robotics certification, she is prolific in surgical education. Dr. Patel transitioned from her role as the NSLIJ general surgery residency program director to the inaugural vice-chair for academic affairs for the Department of Surgery, now guiding the academic journeys of the surgical faculty at her institution. She is active in the Association for Surgical Education and the American College of Surgeons Women in Surgery Committee.

Tiffany Sinclair, MD, FACS

Tiffany J. Sinclair, MD, FACS, is a breast and endocrine surgeon in private practice in San Diego, CA. She has previously worked as a locum tenens acute care and trauma surgeon and as a general surgeon for Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Sinclair received her MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency at Stanford University and a fellowship in endocrine surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. She has been a member of the ACS Women in Surgery Committee since 2017 and currently serves as Chair of the Personal Empowerment Subcommittee.